Slight adjustment to the schedule: Savannah Marshall’s upcoming title defense against Femke Hermans has been pushed back from March 12th to April 2nd.
“I’m really happy to be going back to Newcastle Utilita Arena after the amazing reception I received there last time,” Marshall said.
“Femke is a very tough girl and it’s going to be a hard night’s work but I’m really looking forward to putting on a show.
“I’m sorry to anyone who has been inconvenienced by the date change but I hope everyone who wants to be there can still be there. I really can’t wait,” said Marshall.
On the bright side, the undercard is coming together. The most notable of the bunch pits unbeaten Florian Marku (10-0-1, 6 KO) against former British and Commonwealth welterweight champ Chris Jenkins (23-4-3, 8 KO). “Albanian King” had a strong three-fight 2021, including a decision over Maxim Prodan, while Jenkins recently rebounded from his knockout loss to Ekow Essuman with a solid decision over Julius Indongo.
“I’m excited for my first fight of the year, it’s going to be the start of very big things,” Marku said. “I love fighting in new places so I’m looking forward to entertaining the amazing Newcastle fans and showing them my brand of fighting.”
“Chris Jenkins is a good opponent. He’s won championship belts in Britain and he’s just beaten a former unified world champion. This will be a tough fight between two warriors. This is an important year for me – I’m looking to make a big statement and put the rest of the 147-pound division on alert.”
Nathan Gorman (18-1, 12 KO) will also be in action against Scott Alexander (16-4-2, 8 KO) in the former’s third fight since his disastrous 2019 clash with Daniel Dubois. Plus, Geordie Shore and Bellator MMA veteran Aaron Chalmers will make his pro debut against TBA.